Generally, an electrical connector includes some form of dielectric housing which mounts a plurality of conductive terminals. The housing may be mounted in a casing, such as a metal shield which protects the mating interface of the connector from electromagnetic or radio frequency interferences. Electrical connectors of this general type are used in a wide variety of applications, including mounting on printed circuit boards. Consequently, such connectors are provided in a wide variety of configurations, orientations and directional matings to accommodate a myriad of electrical functions.
For example, a printed circuit board mounted electrical connector might be mounted on either side of the printed circuit board. However, if it is desired to preserve the mating orientation of the connector with a complementary mating connector for aesthetic or functional reasons, a different connector must be provided for mounting on one side of the board versus mounting on the opposite side.
Even if the connector is not a board mounted connector, discrete connector components, such as the connector housings, terminals, metal shells or the like, often must be changed to create problems that are very similar in function but are used in different orientations. With a board mounted connector, terminals often must be oriented in different directions relative to the soldering plane of the board.
In order to accommodate mass production of such electrical connectors, it often is required to provide very similar tooling but which is slightly changed to manufacture a plurality of slightly different connectors, such as described above. This near-duplication in tooling significantly increases the manufacturing cost of the connectors by increasing capital expenditures for molds, dies and assembly tools. In addition, tool utilization and output yield rates may vary significantly in relation to the demands for specific product versions. Inventory costs of different connectors also adds to the individual costs thereof. The logistics of warehousing components that may be very difficult to distinguish visually requires multiple (redundant) checks and balances to assure that the correct products are delivered as requested. The present invention is directed to solving these many problems by providing an electrical connector system wherein a plurality of connector components can be assembled in multiple orientations to provide multiple different configurations of electrical connectors.